Thought some of you might enjoy learning a few Christmas songs (from Christmas Concertina) so you can get ready for the big holiday season.

So, here's an easy version of Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, and perhaps my favorite arrangement in the whole book - In the Bleak Midwinter.

The music includes the melody in regular musical notation along with button numbers for Anglo Concertina (Wheatstone/Lachenal accidentals). Also posted is an explanation of the tablature and numbering system.

Thanks so much for this. As a very elderly learner I will gladly buy the book as I think that already knowing most of these tunes in my head will help in my playing of the notes and system. If it sounds right perhaps I am playing it right!

Not sure why, but I see the "Look Inside" feature on Amazon doesn't show the entire Table of Contents for "Christmas Concertina", so FYI here's the complete listing of what's in the book. As you can see, it's many of the old traditional copyright-free favorites in the US and UK.

Single note melodies for all songs, so anyone with an English or Duet can play them if they are "paper trained", plus all have button numbers and directions to play them with full harmonies on Anglo Concertina.

On an entirely separate note, I'm not seeing any videos out there of concertina bands playing Christmas Music - why is that? Several years ago four of us on English concertina worked up some carols in four-part harmonies from an old hymnal and they sounded wonderful!

Gary

Attached Files

Thank you so much for these.
Right now I am trying to learn "Nancy" from the 1,2,3 book but can't find the tune I the internet. Does it exist somewhere? I really need to hear something before I can play it.

Thank you so much for these.
Right now I am trying to learn "Nancy" from the 1,2,3 book but can't find the tune I the internet. Does it exist somewhere? I really need to hear something before I can play it.

If you search YouTube with the words "Nancy" and "Northumbrian" you'll find a few versions, including this rather fast one by the High Level Ranters: https://youtu.be/ZAVw6sYnVmo. It's also become popular with oldtime musicians here's a lovely version on banjo: https://youtu.be/gf307NwVTLM. And yes, I know I need to post a version on the Anglo, but we've moved to a place that has way too much outside traffic noise and no way to screen it out - very frustrating!

Right now I am trying to learn "Nancy" from the 1,2,3 book but can't find the tune I the internet.

A beautiful tune, written by the late Tom Clough for his wife Nancy, if I have the story right. I learned it on the whistle -- from the Northumbrian Piper's Tunebook -- before I took up concertina. Two parts straight, followed by quicker variations (i.e., with more notes) on those same two parts, which variations I understand were also Tom's. I sometimes do it a third time through, with a few additional diddlies of my own.

There are plenty of versions on YouTube, in a variety of styles and many with at least a couple of notes different from the version in the NPT. Here's one version on fiddle that's pretty straight and more or less in the style I remember from Alistair Anderson's playing, though I think a tad slower. And here's a quicker take with Nancy Kerr -- someone who should know the tradition -- on fiddle. Nice, though I feel the guitar tends to overpower the fiddle in the quicker parts, making it hard to hear just what's happening in the melody.

What I believe I remember from Alistair's solo playing is a speed between the above two examples. On the other hand, aside from the version by the High Level Ranters, of which Alistair was a member, I remember him saying on one occasion that "in Northumberland, the dances start off at breakneck speed and accelerate from there."

I ask because, like Wolf in Germany, I cannot view it in Canada. I have noticed recently that many Youtube videos featuring a Topic artist/album are also inaccessible - and there are lots that I would like to listen to.

If they are available in the US then I might have to get myself a US VPN.

I know we're getting seriously off the "Christmas" topic, but I have no problem viewing the High Level Ranters here in the US, or any other of the Topic videos. You can't watch YouTube at all in China, but I was not aware of individual YouTube videos being restricted in other countries. Are you getting a message saying it's unavailable?

Hi Don,
I know we're getting seriously off the "Christmas" topic, but I have no problem viewing the High Level Ranters here in the US, or any other of the Topic videos. You can't watch YouTube at all in China, but I was not aware of individual YouTube videos being restricted in other countries. Are you getting a message saying it's unavailable?

Gary

Yes, that is the message, and I guess that Wolf is seeing the same message too.